So you want to lose some body fat and are mostly sedentary during the day, or even lightly active? One of the strongest moves you can make is to strap your shoes on and get moving.
In fact, in my experience with my clients, daily walking has had one of the strongest relationships with overall fat loss and downright “feeling better”.
Here is why walking is such a trump card when it comes to tightening up your body and making you feel amazing.
Practicality
The undeniable strengths of daily walking are that it’s free, can be done anywhere, and by almost anyone. Now, you don’t need to walk all the way to Timbuktu to see some inches fall off your waist and hips…
I recommend just 30 minutes of brisk walking per day (after meals seem to work nicely). Talk about the low barrier to entry.
If you can’t manage that, break it up into three, 10-minute brisk walks, (my preferred method with my current work schedule.)
Science
In this 8-week randomized controlled trial, 60 inactive women were randomly assigned to one of the following:
(1) control group or no walking
(2) 30 minutes a day of walking 5 days a week in one continuous long bout
(3) three, short 10-minute bouts of walking a day.
Control group (No walking)
Average Weight Loss = They actually gained a bit…
30-mins / day Walking
Average Weight Loss = 1.4kg or just over 3 Pounds
(2 months doing nothing but walking)
This 3-month study compared people who walked 20-minutes a day and made dietary changes, to those who simply made dietary changes.
Can you guess what happened?
Both of them lost WEIGHT, but the people who walked lost more total BODY FAT. -6.4 kg compared with -4.8 kg
“Diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, LDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol were similarly significantly improved by both interventions.”
Big fancy words, huh?
All of those are indicators of your risk for cardiovascular disease, which is something you definitely do not want any part of.
In this 4-week study, 119 female students were assessed for mood improvement using a common questionnaire known as a POMS (Profile of Mood State). They were asked on a scale of 1-5 how they feel they ranked on 40 different mood indicators (agitated, happy, nervous, relaxed, etc.) These ladies SIGNIFICANTLY reduced their scores on all Negative Mood States.
Reinforcement
When people start to feel the tangible benefits of walking, there becomes less and less of a barrier to continue with it. Simply being in the habit of throwing your coat on and getting out for a short walk (yes, even if it’s raining), is often enough to make it happen without you even considering it.
Here are a few of the things that keep walking engaging, motivating, and worth your time:
Significant, Visual Fat Loss
Mood Improvements
Feelings of Self-Efficacy
